City of Glass
by sereneione
Summary: From the streets of Kanagawa, to the London Bridge... For 20 years, I have been waiting for you until this day... Based on the Hong Kong chinese movie City of Glass. Warning: Hanamichi is a girl. (AU, OOC, Ruhana)
1. Prologue: A tragic new year

**Prologue: A tragic new year**

11.50 pm, 31st December 1996, London…

A black car could be seen speeding along the London Bridge. There were two people in the car, a man and a woman. The man's features were extremely handsome; short black hair with bangs covering his piercing blue eyes, and rather pale skin. The woman, on the other hand, had warm honey brown eyes, striking reddish-brown hair reaching the waist, and a darker complexion compared to the man's. Nevertheless, she was quite beautiful.

At first glance, they looked like total opposites of each other. The truth was, they _were_ the total opposites of each other. Whereas the man was cold and aloof and quiet, the woman was vibrant, loud and the happy-go-lucky type. But, despite their differences, you wouldn't have been able to find a more compatible and loving couple.

Yes… Rukawa Kaede was absolutely and madly in love with Sakuragi Hanamichi, and she him.

"Kitsune, there's only 10 minutes left before the countdown," said Hana. They were heading to the Trafalgar Square, where the 1997 New Year Countdown was to take place.

Kaede turned to look at his lover, and then leaned over to plant a chaste kiss on her lips, before saying, "Do'aho. We'll make it. No sweat." He pressed down harder on the accelerator.

10 seconds before countdown…

The crowd that had gathered at Trafalgar Square started the countdown.

"_Ten._"

The meter in the car was reading 100 miles per hour.

"_Nine._"

105 miles per hour.

"_Eight."_

110 miles per hour.

_"Seven."_

120 miles per hour.

_"Six."_

Kaede and Hana started counting together.

"Five."

Hana laughed happily. "Four."

"Three." Kaede was smiling.

_"Two."_

_"One."_

_"Happy New Year!"_

At Trafalgar Square, fireworks started exploding in the sky. Everyone started to cheer and throw confetti and hug and greet each other. It was truly a happy and merry occasion.

However, two blocks away, it was an entirely different picture. The atmosphere was eerily quiet, broken only by the soft sizzling sound of smoke billowing from the engine of an overturned car.

Kaede slowly crawled to where Hana was lying and tried to shake her awake, calling out softly, "Hana… Hana…" When he realised that she would never wake up again, he bent down to kiss her one last time, and then laid by her side, his face facing hers. As life slowly spilled out from his body, he kept his eyes open, for he wanted to carry the image of her face with him forever.

_Wait for me, Hana. I'm coming to you soon. Wait for me._

Tbc...


	2. My father, your mother

**My father, your mother**

New York, America…

"_The first fatal accident this year happened at __12 midnight__ in __London__, two blocks from __Trafalgar Square__ where the 1997 countdown took place…"_

"_Mum, it's Dad," _said Rukawa Kioshi, his eyes glued to the television, as the camera zoomed in to show the face of the male victim, who looked exactly like his father.

Rukawa Haruko was also watching the television, and her mind went blank as she took in the scene. _"_Rubbish, it's not your Dad."

Kioshi took another look at the television. "_No, it is. _Look Mum. It's really Dad. Can't you recognise Dad?"

"_Shut up! It's not him!_ Your Dad's supposed to be doing business in Hong Kong, how can he be in England?" Haruko refused to accept the possibility, or the fact, that her husband had died.

"_But it's true. Look."_

_"This is not him!"_

_"Mum, what are you talking about? Look, we've got to go to __London__ right now." _Kioshi tried to persuade his mother.

Haruko shook her head. _"This is not true and I'm not going!"_

_---_

In a London police station, England…

_"So, you're saying that the deceased gentleman is your father, but that the woman who was with him at the time of the tragedy is not your mother?"_

"_No,_" mumbled Kioshi, too lost in his own thoughts to be paying attention to the question.

"_Hmm?_" The man raised his eyebrows.

Kioshi looked up and realised his mistake. "_Well, I mean… yes…_"

The man took off his glasses. "_So, who was she then?_"

"_She's my mother._"

Both Kioshi and the man turned to look at the newcomer, a girl in her early twenties. She had shoulder-length brownish-black hair, and there was a tiny tattoo of a cherry blossom beside her right eye.

"_Sir, this is the young lady from __Japan_" said the policeman who came in with her. She seated herself beside Kioshi.

"_So, your father couldn't come either I suppose?_" asked the man, taking from the policeman some documents.

"_Yeah,_" she answered.

Kioshi was still looking at her. "Er, hi. I am his son, Rukawa Kioshi. Are you um… her daughter?"

The girl glanced at him. "Sendoh Kiori."

The man looked up from the documents and asked, "_Are you two related in any way?_"

Both Kioshi and Kiori rolled their eyes in frustration, and then she answered, "_Listen. I don't know him, and he doesn't know me. Only my mother knew his father, and that's about it. You understand now? That's all."_

The man looked at her. _"They didn't just know each other, sweetheart." _He paused for a while, before continuing, _"We checked with the police in __Japan__, and were informed that they had a joint bank account in __Japan__, and a house there under both their names."_

Their shoulders visibly slumped at the information. Kioshi shook his head, hoping against hope that it was all just a bad dream, and that he would be waking up soon. Meanwhile, the man handed them their respective parent's things recovered from the wreck. _"Their personal belongings."_

Kiori's eyes started to fill with tears. As she went through the items, she realised that some of them actually belonged to the other guy. Irritated, she threw the stuffs to Kioshi, one by one, without so much as a look at him. In response, Kioshi picked out her mother's things from among his father's and put it non-too-gently on the table in front of her. Then, they glared at each other.

The man cleared his throat to get their attentions. _"You may take your respective parent's body home after the autopsy, or you can have the body cremated here in __London__. But it'll be a lot less complicated, and everybody will be a lot less miserable, if you have the bodies cremated here. It's up to you."_

Although Kiori was already crying and Kioshi was staring into space, they had heard what the man had just said. Both opted to cremate the bodies in London, and so the cremation was done in a nearby church. After that, they took the first flight back to Japan. They needed to sell off the house, as there wouldn't be anyone living in it anymore. But most importantly, they needed to know about the relationship between their parents.

---

Kanagawa, Japan…

As soon as the plane from London had landed at the Kanagawa airport, Kiori quickly made her way to the entrance, trying to get as far away as possible from Kioshi, who was walking behind her. It was bad enough that they had taken the same plane back, she thought. She didn't want to get stuck with him any longer now that they're in Japan.

They took separate taxis, and she was about to go on her way, when she saw Kioshi struggling to tell his driver where he needed to go. The driver couldn't understand English, and Kioshi's Japanese was as fluent as a 3-year-old's, or even worse. As much as she disliked him, she felt that she couldn't leave him just like that, so she went back to help him.

"Move aside, and let me do the talking." Turning to the driver, she said, "The house is not far past Kanagawa University. Just before the Kainan Hospital, turn into a downhill road and go right up to the end. That's it." She turned to Kioshi. "You, remember to lock up. The house isn't yours, you know. God, you look so dumb. Remember to go to the lawyer's office at Takezato Building tomorrow. Do you know where it is? It's in Yokohama. Do you know where Yokohama is?"

"_Look_, I was born in Japan. _I know where __Yokohama__ is, ok?_" Kioshi snapped, clearly annoyed at her.

"If you're born in Japan, then don't speak English. Show off," Kiori retorted, before walking back to her own taxi.

Kioshi got into his taxi and started mumbling to himself, "_I hate that girl. I hate this city. I hate this whole damn thing. What the hell am I doing here anyway? That girl is just like this city, a bunch of flashes and inside nothing. Gotta get this thing done as soon as possible and get the hell out of here."_

Finally reaching the house, he went in and began to explore. The house had a lot of glass windows; one side of the house which overlooked the sea was practically glass from top to bottom. It was not elegantly furnished, but it had a homey feeling to it, as if everything in the house belonged in it one way or another.

Among the decorations in the house was a model of a bridge, obviously done by his father. Besides that, there was also a model of a hand which was made out of clay, wind chimes, an aquarium, and lots of pictures pasted on the wall. Most of them, Kioshi observed, were pictures of his Dad and Kiori's mother during their younger days.

The house was rather untidy, so Kioshi decided to do a little cleaning. He found some old records, and put one into the record player. Rolling up his sleeves, he immediately got to work, cleaning out the aquarium first, as the strains of the song 'Try to Remember', sung by the Brothers Four, began to fill the air.

_-Flashback-_

_20 years ago, at the __University__ of __Kanagawa__, Japan…_

_It was orientation night for the first-years of __Kanagawa__University__. As part of the orientation, the seniors had set up a challenge for the male students; to barge into the female's dormitory and grab their most prized procession, the gong. It seemed like an easy task, but not when the girls were throwing water bags at you and hosing you down with water. They barged in anyway, braving through the 'attacks', and although not a single person, boys and girls alike, was spared from being wet, everyone had a great time. _

_Among the boys, there was this one person in particular who was trying his very best to get to the gong. In fact, he was the first to barge in, and was practically unstoppable by anyone or anything. If it was a pail of water, he would grab it and dump the contents onto the other person; if it was a hose, he would snatch it and douse whoever that was blocking his way._

_In no time at all, he was within reach of the gong, and finally, after much hand-wrestling, he had the gong in his hands and held it up. The guys started chanting 'Victory, victory' while the girls booed. Even then, the water attack never stopped._

_One of the girls in particular continued drenching the guys with water from a hose, especially the one holding the gong. His back was turned towards her, and the shirt was torn, revealing a huge tattoo of Pokemon on the back. Naturally, she started laughing, and at that very moment, he turned around to face her. _

_And that was when Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi met each other for the very first time, and fell in love at first sight._

_-End of flashback-_

Tbc...

---

Okay… so how was it? Anyway, some notes to be noted. The song 'Try to Remember'is supposed to be played in the background throughout the whole flashback scene. Another thing is, conversation written in italics means that it is in English, while conversation written in normal style is in Japanese. However, in future chapters, during flashbacks, it will be the other way round; italics for Japanese and normal for English. Lastly, please read and review. Ja!


	3. Of love and friendship?

**Of love and friendship?**

In the lawyer's office, Takezato Building, Yokohama…

_"Well, Uncle Mitsui?" _Kioshi prompted. The man he was addressing snapped out his own thoughts and turned to face the two youngsters sitting opposite him across the desk.

"You can just call me Hisashi. Although I am a friend of your Mum and Dad, first name will do."

Kiori leaned forward impatiently. "Then can you please continue, Hisashi?"

Hisashi sighed. "The truth is I've known about their affair all along. Heck, once I even thought that one day, I would be handling their divorce cases."

"Yeah, Mum told me that you specialise in divorce proceedings," said Kioshi.

"Ha, you got that right, son. You know all those divorce cases which were featured as cover stories in the Gossip Weeklies magazine? I handled them." He smirked, proud of his past achievements.

"You knew my Dad very well?" asked Kioshi.

"Of course, as well as could be. We went to university together as freshmen, ragged by the seniors. Man, it was like going through the Vietnam War. How could I not know him well?" As he spoke, his mind began to wander back to those times, 20 years ago…

_-Flashback-_

"We are the champions, we are the heroes! We are the Shohoku boys!"

_The boys of the Shohoku hall (the male dormitory) shouted at the top of their lungs as they jogged around the university. Kaede and Hisashi were among them._

"We are the champions, champions are we!"

_As they jogged, they passed by a group of girls playing a game of lacrosse in the field. Immediately, the senior at the front of the line held up his hand as a signal to start teasing. That was the norm._

_"Shoyo girls, pretty and sexy! Shoyo girls want to be my wife! They are born beauties, but alas so lonely. They attract bugs and rats and cockroaches rife!"_

_The girls stopped playing and started giggling. _

_Normally, Kaede wouldn't bother about girls, but at that moment, he caught sight of a streak of red from the corner of his eye, and stopped to get a better look. He watched as Hana took advantage of the distraction caused by the boys and ran towards the goal, scoring for her team. _

_"Nyahahahaha! I am the Tensai! Nyahahahahaha!" shouted Hana as she danced around with her team-mates._

_Seeing her antics, Kaede couldn't help but cheer as well, catching the attention of both Hana and his friends. His friends started teasing him, but Kaede couldn't be bothered about them, for he only had eyes for Hana, and she him. Even as he was dragged away by his friends, he still couldn't take his eyes off Hana. _

_-End of flashback-_

"Kaede always gave all he'd got in doing anything. Sometimes even the boys felt he's going too far. That time the seniors wanted to stub his pride, they punished him to use 50 foul words in one sentence and yell it out in public. Every word had to be a swear word, now that's tough."

Hisashi smiled as he recalled that particular incident. "You know son, in the history of Kanagawa University, only 3 people had managed to accomplish it. Your Dad was one of them."

"The bad thing was, he also got the Shoyo girl Hana into trouble with her seniors. She had to go to a designated store to buy ice-cream and give it to the Chairman of Shohoku Hall Association. She's not allowed to take a ride, but to walk back to campus, and the ice-cream must not melt. And it was supposed to be summer at that time."

_-Flashback-_

_"Stupid kitsune, getting the Tensai into trouble," mumbled Hana as she walked back to the campus as fast as she could. _

_Ring, ring!_

_Hana turned around to see Kaede cycling towards her. He circled around her a few times before coming to a stop. _

_Hana's temper flared up at the sight of him. "What are you doing here, kitsune? Came to laugh at the Tensai for being punished?"_

_Kaede just looked and her and said, "Do'aho."_

_"Teme!"_

_Kaede pointed to the back seat of his bicycle. "Get on."_

_Hana stopped ranting and blinked. "Huh?"_

_Kaede rolled his eyes. "Do'aho, I said get on the bicycle."_

_"I know what you said, kitsune! But you know I'm not supposed to take a ride back. Are you trying to get me into more trouble?"_

_"You will if you don't get on, because the ice-cream's already melting, do'aho."_

_Hana looked at the ice-cream in her hand. Sure enough, it was beginning to melt. She began to panic. "Aahhh! What am I going to do? What am I going to do?!! This is all your fault, kitsune!"_

_"Get on the bicycle, and I will send you back."_

_Reluctantly, Hana got onto the bicycle, and because she was holding the ice-cream in one hand, she only had the other hand to hold on to something while he cycled. Not wanting to hold on to him, she tried to keep her balance by holding on to the bicycle seat, only to fall down flat on her back 5 seconds into the ride. _

_"Do'aho, if you don't want to be punished, then hold on to me," said Kaede, before adding, "Tight."_

_Hana blushed at the last word, but complied anyway, since she really didn't want to be punished. And so, with one hand around his waist, Hana let Kaede send her on her way. _

_Upon reaching campus, Hana quickly got off the bicycle and ran off to find the chairman before the ice-cream melted completely. As she was about to enter the building, she turned around to look at Kaede._

_Kaede, who was still standing at the same spot he had let her off, lifted his hand and gave a little wave. Shyly, Hana waved back, before disappearing from view._

_-End of flashback-_

"You rag freshmen this way now, they'd sure complain," said Kiori, her arms folded in front of her chest.

"_It's no big deal,_" shrugged Kioshi.

"_No big deal?_ It's a very big deal. Human Rights Law, Equal Opportunities Commission, Environmental Protection Department. They'd definitely sue your pants off," said Kiori, ticking off her fingers one by one. Kioshi rolled his eyes.

Hisashi watched the exchange with his eyebrows raised. "On second thought, if you want to sell the house, you'd better wait till your parents return and confirm by signature, lest you two have any arguments again. But you can put it on market now. Ask them to come back when you've finalised the terms."

Kioshi sighed. "_Well, whatever."_

"Oh yeah, Kioshi. Remember to take Shiori with you when you go," Hisashi continued. Picking up the phone, he called his secretary. "Rei, please bring Shiori in."

Kioshi sat up quickly at the mention of Shiori. "Shiori? Who's Shiori?" His eyes widened visibly. "You mean they've even got a kid…?" Kiori also looked at Hisashi, her eyes as wide, if not any wider, as Kioshi's.

"No. Shiori is the puppy your Dad and her Mum kept. Every time they went abroad they left him with me."

"Oh." Kiori breathed a sigh of relief. Kioshi sank back into his chair, and then sat back up again.

"Wait a minute. Why me? Why not her?" he said, gesturing to Kiori beside him.

Kiori gave him a glance and said nonchalantly, "Well, 'see a man about a dog', right?"

---

A few days later…

"Come on, Shiori. Be good," said Kioshi, trying to stop Shiori from barking. A couple was supposed to take a look at the house that day, and he didn't want things to go wrong. Meanwhile, Kiori was busy entertaining the aforementioned couple.

"Hubby, there's a lot of leakage stains," remarked Miyagi Ayako to her husband, as they looked around the house.

"Is that so, koi?" Miyagi Ryota answered.

"The leak-proof here is lousy," said Ayako again.

"Koi, do you think there are termites here?" asked her husband.

Kiori quickly chipped in. "Of course not. We've lived here for so long and haven't seen one termite. Relax." She widened the smile already plastered on her face. _I hope this works. I mean, I've seen Dad do it so many times already. It seems to be working every time he does it._

"But this house is very tattered," said the wife.

If anything, Kiori's smile grew even wider. "Of course not. It's only 5 years old. So the paint on the wall's a bit cracked, just whitewash it. Relax."

"Renovating this place will cost a lot."

Kiori felt as if her teeth were about to fall off any moment soon. "Of course you've got to brush up a bit before moving in, madam." She turned to Ryota, deciding to make her move on him, since his wife was playing hard to get. "Mister, does this place suit your fancy?"

All this while, Kioshi was watching from one corner of the house, holding Shiori in his arms.

Ryota took one look at Ayako and smiled sheepishly before saying, "You know, this place is out of the way, and this shack is worn-down. Why don't you cut the price?"

_This is going to be harder than I thought. _"Aww… mister, come on. It's a quiet surrounding here. See the beautiful sea view? It's hard to find places like this in Japan."

"Miss, we're just an ordinary household buying a house to live in. Our kids are small. This is a remote spot. Don't ask for too much. Quiet surrounding and nice view? That's good for keeping a concubine, it means nothing to us," Ayako interrupted when she saw that her husband was about to give in.

Kiori's smile froze on her face. In a flash, her whole demeanour changed, and she snapped at the couple. "Forget it then. We're not selling!" She stomped over to where Kioshi was standing.

Ayako pulled Ryota along as she caught up with Kiori. "Ok, miss. We'll meet you halfway. I'll add 0.2 million Yen to the original price. How about that?"

"We are not selling! Do you hear me? Not. Selling. Not selling!" yelled Kiori. _I should have adopted Mum's attitude from the very beginning. Dad's is definitely not my cup of tea,_ thought Kiori angrily.

Ayako walked off in a fury, but Ryota stayed back, still not willing to give up. He approached Kioshi. "Young man, you are a sensible one. How about this shack?"

_Time to show off Dad's famous expressionless and monotonous self. _"Didn't you hear? This shack is not for sale now. Go shack-up somewhere else," said Kioshi monotonously, at the same time keeping a straight face.

In the meantime, Ayako had returned and proceeded to drag her husband away. "Let's go, Ryota. Our money is good for any house."

Kiori began muttering angrily, "Scumbag. People nowadays are so foul-mouthed, all babblers."

"Yeah, your Mum's hardly a concubine, at most a mistress," said Kioshi sarcastically.

You could practically hear Kiori's veins popping one by one as she turned to face Kioshi. "Why don't you dry up? So what's your Dad? A male prostitute? A paramour? Or a home-wrecker? And don't forget, your Dad and my Dad were friends. 'Thou shall not covet thy friend's wife'. Know that one?"

"Hey! Don't you try to intimidate me with big words. How do you know it wasn't your Mum who seduced my Dad?" Kioshi retorted, all manner of Rukawa-ism forgotten.

"How dare you suggest my Mum's a seducer?! Say it again and I'll sue you for libel! Lunatic!" shouted Kiori, her voice practically bouncing off the walls, threatening to bring the whole house down. She's certainly not Hanamichi's daughter for nothing.

"_I don't know what you are talking about,"_ mumbled Kioshi.

"Stupid banana-boy, stop speaking English. It's out of fashion," sneered Kiori as she walked out of the door. "Now we go for mother-tongue teaching. Practice your Japanese," she continued before slamming the door behind her.

Almost immediately, Kioshi threw the door open again and shouted, "Who cares about what's fashionable in Japan? You ugly Japanese. I don't know why my Dad would fancy your Mum. _Gotta be bad taste._"

"I don't know what my Mum saw in your Dad either, you loud bugger!" Kiori shouted back.

"Who are you calling a bugger?!"

"I'm calling you and your Dad and your dog, you limp and loud cur!!"

With that, she walked away, leaving Kioshi fuming to himself. He slammed the door shut and almost broke the glass windows in the process.

"Arrrgggghhhhh!!! Shiori!!!" he cried when he saw the dog happily chewing off some old records.

_That's it! I've had it with this dog. Tomorrow I'm going to bring him to that stupid Japanese girl, or my name is not Rukawa Kioshi._

Tbc...

---

As usual, please read and review. Thank you all. I'm sorry about Mitsui's character. I mean, there isn't anybody else I could think of to take the place of that character. There are not many first-years in Shohoku, and I didn't want to use the non-main characters. So, Mitsui had to be 2 years younger. And, I know Sendoh and Rukawa aren't really friends, but they have to be in this story. Please bear with me. Till the next time, ja!


	4. Getting to know you

**Getting to know you**

"_Hey, Shiori! No!"_

"Woof! Woof!"

_"Come on, come on."_ Kioshi tried to keep Shiori from barking his head off at a few girls who was passing by. Picking him up, Kioshi went into the building and headed straight for the receptionist desk.

"Sir, can you please page Room 432 for me," said Kioshi to the old man sitting behind the desk.

"Hohoho! Just call me Anzai-san. _They have been calling me Anzai-san for 52 years,_" said the man jovially. Kioshi paid no attention to him as he was still trying to keep Shiori from wriggling free from his grasp.

"432, please come to the reception. 432, please come to the reception," Anzai-san called into the intercom. After a couple of minutes of no response, he turned to Kioshi. "She seems to be out. Right, what's the dog doing here?"

"The dog belongs to 432. I'll leave him here. Please give him to her, ok?" said Kioshi quickly, eager to get rid of Shiori. He put the dog on the desk and was about to leave when Anzai-san stopped him.

"Hohoho! No can do, son. Dogs are not allowed here. _It's against the rules you know,"_ said Anzai-san, as he handed the dog back to Kioshi.

_"I don't really care. I've enough trouble as it is, you know?"_ retorted Kioshi.

"Young man, relax. I'll figure it out for you, ok?" Anzai-san tried to assure Kioshi. "Rules are sometimes meant to be broken. Take the female residents in the past. After midnight…"

"Anzai-san, please page 432 again. _Come on now,"_ Kioshi cut him off, not wanting to listen to his tales of the past.

Anzai-san looked at him curiously. "What's the hurry? You must be courting 432."

"What's that?" Kioshi scoffed.

"Hohoho! 432 is the daughter of she who used to be 403. _And 403 was an even more popular girl. _613 and 809 of Shohoku hall went up to the roof all the time to teach her play ball. At least, that's what they said. 613 is now a Legislative Council, a fence-sitter. Hohoho! That was already 20 years ago."

Kioshi rolled his eyes as Anzai-san went on and on about Kiori's mother (Hanamichi). _613 is definitely not Dad. Dad's an architect. _

Anzai-san looked at his watch. "Ah, it's dinner time," he exclaimed. Getting up from his chair, we went over to a gong situated at the foot of the stairs and banged it three times, before pausing for a while and then repeating the whole process. As he watched the girls come down from their rooms, he muttered to himself, "Dressed like that for High Table Dinner? How time's changed! Hohoho!"

_-Flashback-_

_A lone figure could be seen cycling along the corridor of Shohoku Hall. The boy had fine features; black hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Even though he was only wearing a t-shirt with a denim jacket on top and a pair of faded jeans, he still looked handsome. Only thing was, he rarely smiled. If he did, he would probably make the entire female population on campus swoon at the very sight of it._

_But Kaede didn't care about other girls. The only one he cared about was Hanamichi, and right now, he was on his way to see her. At the front of the bicycle, a single stalk of red rose was attached to it, meant for his do'aho._

_Meanwhile, Hana and her friends were getting ready for their High Table Dinner at the Shoyo Dining Hall. She sat at the last table, her back facing the glass door next to it. At the front of the hall, the dorm supervisor was introducing the guest speaker of the evening._

"The dilemma of a modern educated woman in an ever changing society is often reflected in the difficulty of forming any positive orientation…"

_As the speaker droned on and on, Hana's friend, Matsui, spoke in a low voice, so as not to be heard. "Comprehendeth I not a single word of yeh banana's utterance. It giveth me fright stupendously."_

_Her words made the other girls, including Hana, giggle. Hana cleared her throat. "Fear thee not, for she be nought but a stupendous stupid one." _

_At around the same time, Kaede reached the dining hall. Leaving his bicycle outside, he entered the hall without so much as batting an eye and crouched down low beside Hana's chair, hidden from view by the table._

_His sudden appearance surprised Hana and her friends. She was even more surprised when he lifted the rose and handed it to her. "For you."_

_Hana blushed, but she didn't take it from him. Nevertheless, she said, "Arigatou."_

_Matsui leaned towards Hana and teased, "What gift doth young man present?"_

_"It be a thorn-less rose," answered Hana, still blushing. The rest of the girls continued with their giggling fit._

_Kaede tugged at her hand to get her attention. "Barn dance on Saturday night."_

_"Call me and we'll talk about it later," Hana replied. She kept on looking towards the front, afraid that the dorm supervisor would find out that Kaede was there._

_"Do'aho, the Shoyo Hall phone is always busy." For no apparent reason, he snapped his fingers. Half the hall turned their heads to look at Hana. _

_"Kitsune!" Hana began to panic. "Go first, hurry!"_

_Not one to give up so easily, Kaede held up the rose, high enough above the table for everyone to see. Hana quickly pushed it down. Kaede held it up again. Hana pushed it down again. This went on a few more times, until Hana herself couldn't resist giggling at Kaede's persistence. _

_Seeing her smile was like heaven to Kaede. He smiled himself, and said, "See you Saturday. This flower is a pledge."_

_Hana glanced to the front before replying, "It's only Wednesday. How can it last until Saturday?"_

_"Put an aspirin in the water everyday and it'll last."_

_Hana pouted a little. "I don't believe it. The Medic boys taught you that?"_

_"The English Literature boys did." He took her hand and placed the rose on her palm, closing her fingers around it. "It's a deal?"_

_Hana didn't answer, but the smile on her face was all the answer he needed. Smiling back, he said, "An aspirin a day, while he's away," before taking an apple from the table and biting into it._

_The sound of the bite caught the attention of the guest speaker and the people in front of the hall. To cover it up, Hana's friends stood up and clapped, prompting the rest of the students to do the same (the talk was over anyway). The distraction was enough to give Kaede the chance to slip away unnoticed, and with the apple still in hand, he cycled away._

_-End of flashback-_

It was already night, and Kioshi was still waiting for Kiori at the receptionist desk. Just as he was about to give up and leave, Kiori finally emerged, wearing an oversize chequered long-sleeved shirt over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, while her hair was tied back in a bandanna.

It took Kioshi a while to recognise her, and when he finally did, he hurriedly grabbed the dog and ran over to her. "Kiori! Hey Kiori!"

Kiori was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"To give you back the dog," said Kioshi, at the same time shoving the dog into her hands.

As quick as the dog was shoved to her, she shoved it back to Kioshi. "Nuts, it's not mine." She turned to leave, but Kioshi pulled her back.

"He belongs to both of us. Shiori was kept by my Dad and your Mum. He belongs to both parties," reasoned Kioshi.

With one hand on her hip, Kiori reasoned back, "Listen, man's belongings to the man, woman's to the woman. This dog is male. So, he goes to the man."

Annoyed, Kioshi said, "How can you tell it's a male? _I can't even tell if you're a boy or a girl."_

Kiori flared up at once. "What??! You having male menopause or something?"

"Take him back." Kioshi shoved the dog to her once more.

"I don't want him." Kiori shoved it back.

"Take him back."

"I don't want him!"

In the middle of all the shoving and 'take it back' and 'I don't want him', Shiori began to whine and struggle. In the end, it managed to free itself, and falling to the ground, it immediately ran away.

"Shiori, come back!"

Kioshi and Kiori chased after Shiori, and were just in time to see him run across the road. Just then, a few bikers passed by, and one of them, not being able to brake in time, ran over the dog.

Kiori shrieked. "Shiori's knocked down!"

As Shiori lay whimpering on the road, Kiori and Kioshi ran to his side. Kiori started panicking.

"Shiori's bleeding! What are we going to do?!"

Kioshi, being the calmer one between them both, asked the bikers if there was a vet nearby. They told him that there was one down the street. Kiori jumped to her feet.

"Taxi, I'll call a taxi!" With that, she ran up the street, searching for a cab.

Kioshi called after her. "It's just downhill. It's faster to cycle."

Too much in a panic to hear him, she tried to flag down a passing cab, but the cab didn't stop. Kioshi, on the other hand, had already borrowed a bike from one of the bikers, who were more than willing to help.

"Wait for me!" shouted Kiori when she saw Kioshi cycling down the road without her.

"Come on!" He stopped to let her get on the bike before cycling off again.

"Help! Are you sure you can handle this?!" asked Kiori, as the bike began to go downhill. She didn't wait for Kioshi to answer; she had already started screaming.

"It'll be alright. Just shut up!" Kioshi had to shout back to get his voice heard over her screams.

"I'm scared!!"

"Don't worry!"

In the end, she screamed all the way downhill.

---

At the vet…

While Kioshi was inside the vet's room with Shiori, Kiori waited outside anxiously.

"There, it's come to. Everything's alright now. Bring it back tomorrow for follow-up," said the doctor.

"Sorry to have kept you so late," Kioshi apologised.

"It's ok. Tell your girlfriend to make it rest."

Kioshi turned to look at Kiori for a while, before saying, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Ooops, sorry. Your sister?"

"She's not my sister either."

The doctor shrugged. "Well, whatever."

"Anyway, thank you," said Kioshi.

"You're welcome."

Kioshi went to join Kiori, who was already holding Shiori in her arms. As she stroked the poor dog, she said, "Shiori baby. You must me obedient. Your masters are gone, and are never coming back. If you're disobedient, nobody will keep you, you know? Now you're left on your own, you hear?"

Hearing her words, Kioshi felt sad as well. He knew what she meant; after all, both of them had lost a parent at the same time.

Later, when they were walking back to her campus, with Kioshi pushing the bike, he asked Shiori, "Shiori, why did they go just like that? Without even saying goodbye. They didn't love you, so you've got all those hang-ups."

"Is everything they keep so weird?" Kiori wondered.

"Why do you say that?" asked Kioshi.

"Well, I feel that Shiori's just like me. Ask him to go east, he goes west. Ask him to eat, he sleeps. Ask him to sleep, he pees. Rebellious and obstinate," said Kiori.

Kioshi pondered on her words for a while. "Come to think of it, he's a bit like me too. _Cool, tough._ Zero EQ, but full marks in IQ. _And always challenging the existing system."_

Kiori laughed at his words. "Enough, enough. Don't you know you are exaggerating?"

Kioshi smiled, despite himself. Looking at the girl beside him, he asked, "Is he heavy? Let me carry him for a while."

Kiori nodded her head, and slowly handed the dog to him. "Careful with his leg. It hurts."

Tbc...

---

Ok… now let's see… in case you didn't get it, Kiori is studying in the same university as her mother. Also, the road that they were using to get to the vet, it's kind of like a hill-slope, as the campus is situated on a hill. It's also the same road used by Hana and Kaede back in the third chapter; you know, the part where Kaede cycled Hana back to the campus. Lastly, EQ means Emotional Quotient, while IQ means Intelligence Quotient.


	5. The dance and the bottle

**The dance and the bottle**

_-Flashback-_

_Barn dance, Saturday night…_

_As the resident band played the oldies on the makeshift stage at the front of the rundown church, and the other couples mingled around with each other among the haystacks stacked in every corner of the place, Kaede and Hana danced together, totally oblivious to their surroundings._

_They didn't care that people kept bumping into them, or they kept bumping into other people. All they cared about was each other, and to them, that's all that mattered in the world. _

_On the stage, Sendoh Akira, one of the guitarists of the band, looked on forlornly as Kaede placed his hands around Hana's waist and pulled her closer to him, pressing their foreheads together. Even with the dark lightings around the place, Akira could see the blush on Hana's face. _If you met me first and Kaede later, would you love me as much as you love him now, Hana? Or will you still love him?

-

_Later, Kaede and Hana sneaked out of the dance and headed towards a secluded part of the campus. Even running down the stairs and along the corridor seemed like a walk in heaven to the love-struck couple._

_After making sure that no one else was around to see them, Kaede cornered Hana against the wall and captured her lips. For the next few minutes, none of them, especially Kaede, felt the need to breathe. But, as the kiss became more and more passionate, Hana began to feel more and more anxious and nervous. Finally, she broke away from the kiss and held on to Kaede as she breathed heavily from the lack of oxygen._

_Catching her breath, she said, "No, I don't want to rush it." She brushed away the hair sticking to her face and looked into Kaede's eyes. It was obvious that he wanted more._

_"I'll marry you," he said, amidst heavy breathing, and moved in to capture her lips again, but Hana turned her face away and placed her hands flat against his chest to push him away. She slid down to the floor and hugged her knees, her eyes never leaving Kaede's face, as they implored to him to understand. _

_Kaede crouched down in front of her, disappointed, but he loved her, and that's all that mattered, right? Right. He could wait. He would wait, for as long as it took. And so, he nodded his head, and sat down beside her. _

Yeah, I'll wait, because I love you Hana, and I always will.

-

_A few days later, back in her dormitory…_

_Hana sat on the bed, thinking back about what had happened between her and Kaede the other day. Matsui, who was doing her class assignment at her desk, tried to get Hana's attention, but Hana was already in a world of her own. _

_She walked over to Hana and sat beside her on the bed. "He didn't enter, so it should be ok."_

_"But lingering about is risky enough," said Hana, without looking at her friend. _

_"When was your last period?" asked Matsui._

_"Well, this Tensai's very irregular, sometimes in 2 months, sometimes 3. Sometimes even only once in 6 months."_

_Matsui frowned. "That's bad. Why did you give way? Now there's no market value."_

_Hana blinked. "I… I didn't want to, but I hated to push him away, so I only gave half way." She pulled at her own hair. "Argh! Give him an inch and he takes a yard, that kitsune!"_

_"You mean, he's got a whole yard already?"_

_"Baka! It's just a saying! What do you mean by a whole yard?" Hana snapped, blushing a little at the thought of 'a whole yard'._

_"Ok… so he didn't get a whole yard. But did you or didn't you do it with him?" asked Matsui mischievously, nudging Hana with her shoulder. "Was it nice?"_

_Hana narrowed her eyes, trying her hardest not to smile. "Get lost, you nympho. Nosy Parker! See how nosy you look." _

_"Nosy! I'm not nosy!" Matsui protested, jabbing Hana at her sides. _

_"Yes, you are, Fatso! Nyahahahaha!"_

_-_

_In another part of the campus…_

_"Wake up! It's time to work!"_

_"It's so damn noisy here all day long!"_

_Hisashi made his way across the crowded study room and plopped himself on the chair next to Kaede, who was sucking on a cigarette and looking at a plan (architecture plan). Placed in front of him on the table was a model of a bridge._

_"I'm starving," said Hisashi, as he munched on the extra big sandwich in his hand. He looked at the model. "Beautiful, really beautiful. Hey, Kaede, let's have a snack. Let's go down to __Ryonan Street__ for sweet soup."_

_He took another bite off the sandwich, before continuing, "I'm starving. Sweet soup, ok? Herb and egg tea?"_

_Without a word, Kaede stood up and walked out to the corridor, ignoring the call of his friend. Once out on the corridor, he took a deep breath, and shouted, "Aaaaahhhhh! 7001, you're gorgeous!" _

_His voice travelled through the night and all the way to the reception desk at Shoyo Hall. Anzai-san shook his head. "Hohoho! Here it comes again. Everybody says his girlfriend is 01 of her class. Hohoho!" (A/n: I take it to mean that 70 is the year of the girl's class, with the 01 at the back stating that she is the number one beauty in her class.)_

_-End of flashback-_

"What are you looking at? Come here," said Kiori to Kioshi, who was watching a couple of students experimenting on something. He followed her to the front hall of the very, very small and cramped-up room.

_"This place is pretty cool. _So this is the Mini Hall?" asked Kioshi.

"Yeah, it meets the Japan Housing Department specifications. 35 square feet per head," Kiori explained.

Kioshi took a swig from the bottle of drink in his hand, before settling down on the floor beside Kiori. "But that's different. That's for the resettlement areas."

Kiori raised an eyebrow. "Hello? This is a resettlement hostel. Be satisfied." She threw out a few packets of snacks and shouted, "Hey guys, chow time!"

Everybody gathered in a circle as they made a grab for the snacks.

"Hey, let's play 'Spin The Bottle'!"

"What's that?"

"'When, Where and With Whom'. Your first time." (A/n: First time as in first kiss… )

The bottle was spun around, and the first 'victim' was quickly chosen."

"The one pointed at by the bottle must confess," said Kiori, pointing to the guy, who looked nonchalant.

"When: 18. Where: 7-11. With whom: sister 13." (A/n: 7-11 as in a convenient store. As for sister 13, it is a nickname.)

Everybody started cheering and clapping. "Wow, 3 seconds! Fastest gun in the west." The guy just smiled smugly.

The bottle was spun again, and another victim was claimed, this time a girl, who almost choked on her potato chips when she saw the bottle pointing at her.

"'When, Where, With Whom'. Shoot."

"And it has to be me?" she complained.

"Just your luck. Stop whining, talk. When?"

"Ok, ok! 18," she said. "Sweet eighteen."

Everybody whistled and cheered at the phrase 'sweet eighteen'. "Where, where?"

"At my place."

"With whom?"

"Actually, it's outside the door of my place," she corrected, and was instantly booed at.

"With whom? Come on, spill!"

"Michael."

"Michael who? Michael Chang? Michael Jackson? Michael Douglas?"

"Go to hell! Nuts, forget it. Next!" shouted the girl, and spun the bottle. The next victim was a guy who was wearing a facial mask on his face.

"Me?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you. Speak. When?"

"Well, I was 20, while she was 18."

"Where?"

"The place was at her house. Outside the door."

"Outside the door again?" His friends looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, it _was _outside the door!" he insisted.

"Fine. With whom then?"

With a dramatic pause, and an even dramatic flourish, he peeled off the mask from his face and said, "I'm Michael."

Of course, this was followed by a lot of laughter and cheering and teasing.

"Damn you! Die you fool! Die!" The previous girl yelled, as she began to pick up whatever she could get her hands on and threw it at the guy.

Kioshi watched the whole scene with amusement. It's been quite a while since the last time he had so much fun.

When the commotion died down, the bottle was spun again, and who should be its next target but…

"Your turn at last!"

"Yes, big shot?"

Kioshi accepted his fate with a smile on his face. "Ok, ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, go on!"

"When? On my 21st birthday."

"Yeah…" Everybody listened to him with rapt attention.

"Where? A bedroom suite facing the sea."

"Wow!"

"How romantic!"

"How classy!"

"With whom? Even if I tell you, you don't know her," said Kioshi.

Before anyone could protest, Kiori interrupted the game.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Excuse me, bro, but I heard you're only 20," she pointed out.

With the revelation of his real age, everybody started booing at Kioshi and throwing stuffs at him.

"Can't I plan my next birthday gift for myself?" said Kioshi, defending himself.

"If what you're saying is true, that means you're a virgin!" somebody shouted out.

"Hey, Kiori, he's yours!"

"You're so foxy. Fox him!"

"Yeah, fox him!

Soon, everybody was chanting together. "Fox him! Fox him! Fox him!"

"Oi, cut the crap! I quit. Next one, next one!" shouted Kiori, as she waved her hands about. _God, please don't let them see me blush, please don't let them see me blush!_

Unfortunately, someone did.

_Hmm… she looks kinda pretty when she blushes._

Tbc...

-

Sorry for the long delay… kinda got caught in exams and the other fic I'm working on. Anyway, thanks to those who had read and reviewed. Thanks a lot!


	6. Till jail do us part

**Till jail do us part**

_-Flashback-_

_"Don't forget the 8 years war!"_

_"Defend Diaoyutai Isles with our lives!"_

_"Beware another British invasion!"_

_These were the shouts that were heard all over Kanagawa, as a group of more than a hundred students took to the streets to demonstrate against the invasion of Diaoyutai Isles by the British troops. Among the demonstrators was Kaede, who was among the few leaders of the demonstration. _

_Hana, who was also there, but only because she wanted to be with Kaede, caught his arm and stopped him. "Kitsune, let's go. If you get arrested for unlawful assembly, you will have a criminal record."_

_"No fear! If I join the Police Force I'll definitely become their superior!" With that, he continued shouting, "Defend the Diaoyutai Isles with our lives! Beware another British invasion!" _

_Around the corner, a group of police officers had gathered and were getting ready to disband the crowd. _

_"Listen, you mob. Your assembly is unlawful. You have one minute to disperse, or else the Police will make arrests!"_

_Instead of dispersing, the demonstrators sat on the ground and clapped their hands, in time with their chanting. "Diaoyutai, ours! Diaoyutai, ours! Diaoyutai, ours!"_

_Seeing that they were not going to follow their orders, the police officers got ready to take action._

_"Baka kitsune, let's go! Will you listen to me??" Hana asked again, this time fearfully._

_"No!" came the reply._

_And then, like a cat jumping on its prey, the officers charged forward and began to hit the demonstrators with their sticks. There was a mad scramble, as everyone tried to escape from being caught and arrested._

_"Kaede!" Hana screamed. She wanted to help him when she saw that he was attacked by a police officer, but was held back by Akira._

_"Go, Hana! Never mind them. Hurry up and go!" Akira shouted, trying his hardest to pull Hana away to safety while protecting her from getting hurt._

_"Let go of me! Kaede!" Hana struggled to get to Kaede, but Akira was too strong for her._

_"KAEDE!!!"_

_Meanwhile, Kaede got hit in the head and was thrown into the back of the police lorry._

_"Matsui, have you seen Hana?" he asked the girl when he saw her in the lorry._

_"No, I haven't," she answered._

_He turned to the officer who was in the lorry with them. "Sir, have you-"_

_"Shut up!"_

_Cursing the officer in his heart, he looked out of the lorry and searched frantically for his beloved redhead. _

Please, Kami-sama, let her be alright. Let her be safe. Please… please…

---

_Later that night…_

_"The demonstrating crowd has not yet dispersed after dark. The Police will bring unlawful assembly charges against these 21 demonstrators. This concludes our report at __Ryokufu __Park__…"_

Please… don't let Kaede be one of them… don't let him be one of them… _Hana silently prayed. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room, listening to the radio while drying her long red hair with a towel._

_On the television, the news channel was also reporting on the demonstration. _

_"There was great confusion at the scene. The demonstrators retreated from __Ryokufu __Park__ into the heart of __Tsukubu __Bay__…"_

_Her mother turned to look at her. "Baby, don't mix up with such impetuous people."_

_"I tell you, these people are trouble makers," her father added._

_Hana ignored them and paid attention to the reporter, who was about to announce the names of those who were arrested. _

_"The Police arrested 21 demonstrators altogether. They are Hoshino Fumio, Nakajima Gengo, Hosoi Sachimi, Kumaki Masami, Kurokawa Sato, Rukawa Kaede…"_

_Without waiting for the whole list to finish, Hana dashed out of the house. _

_"Baby, where are you going? Your hair's still wet!" her mother called after her._

_"Leave me alone!" Hana shouted back. _I have to get to Kaede, I have to see him!

---

_At the visiting room in the police station…_

_"Hey bookie-learner! Your wife's here to see you!" One of the prisoners shouted, apparently referring to Kaede and Hana. _

_Hana pretended not to hear or be affected by the remarks and stares directed at her. _I'm the Tensai! I won't let stupid people like them get to me! I'm here to see kitsune, and I won't leave until I make sure that he's alright.

_The door to the room opened, and Kaede was escorted in by an officer. The relief he felt from seeing Hana safe and sound was clearly shown on his face, as he sat down on the other side of the desk opposite Hana. For a moment, none of them spoke. _

_"_We're the best," _said Kaede, finally breaking the silence between them._

_Hana gave him a small smile. "_We're the best."

_"I was so worried you'd be arrested too."_

_"Baka kitsune. I'm the Tensai. I won't be arrested so easily," Hana replied. Before, she would've ended this statement with her trademark Tensai laugh, but now, considering the situation that her beloved kitsune was in, she couldn't bring herself to do so. She felt that her kitsune in jail was not a laughing matter._

_Being one of the few who knew the redhead as well as the back of his own hand, Kaede immediately noticed the change. "Do'aho," he said, trying to keep a straight face so as not to make her worry about him._

_"How's your head, kitsune?" Hana asked, deliberately changing the subject. _

_"Still hurts a little, no sweat."_

_Hana reached into her bag and took out a box of aspirins. "I brought some aspirins for you." Pausing for a while, she smiled and continued, _"An aspirin a day, while she is away."

_She watched as Kaede took one tablet and put it in his mouth. "Wash it down with a glass of water, kitsune."_

_"No need. I'm good in swallowing medicine." He swallowed the aspirin to prove his point._

_"Stupid kitsune. Always showing off."_

_"Do'aho."_

_Another moment of silence ensued, before Kaede spoke. "Go now. Girls shouldn't stay here long."_

_"Teme kitsune. I'm the Tensai. I am not afraid. Besides, there are so many cops here. It's safe," Hana protested. She didn't want to leave; she wanted to be with him longer. _

_"Do'aho." As much as he worried about her safety, Kaede too, wanted to be with Hana longer._

_"Are you really ok here?" she asked, again changing the subject._

_"I'm ok. You heard them calling me bookie-learner. All those ringleaders, big bosses, they take good care of me." He leaned forward, and gestured to Hana to do the same. Lowering his voice, he continued, "There are many drug addicts here. When it's urine test time, I substitute my urine for them. I 'pass water' for them, they 'carry water' for me. I provide the urine for the whole detention centre."_

_Hana couldn't help but smile at this revelation. _

_"They take good care of me. I'm fine," Kaede finished. _

_Hana nodded her head. "Akira and Hisashi couldn't get permission to visit you. Maybe it's because their pictures were taken during the demo."_

_To the naked eye, Kaede's expression didn't change, but Hana knew better. "Akira asked you to keep cool. They also asked me to bring you this sweet soup. I got it from __Ryonan Street__." She placed the thermos pot on the table._

_"And this tape, I've applied for ages to bring it in here." She took out a cassette player and handed it to him. "Listen." _

_Kaede obliged and pressed the 'play' button. It was a recording of Hana's voice, singing the song 'Try to Remember'._

_If she thought that he would be happy to hear the song, she was wrong. The obvious change of expression on his face was more than she could bear, and so, she decided to take leave. "I'm going now."_

_Kaede just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He didn't want to let Hana see him cry. Not now. Not here, anyway._

_And as Hana walked out of the room with a heavy heart, she kept on glancing backwards for a last glimpse of Kaede. _I'll wait for you Kaede, I'll wait…

---

_In one of the cells in the police station…_

_"Pissing for others? I'll beat the piss out of you!" _

_Kaede found himself thrown against the wall and punched in the stomach. _

_"U boy! U boy! Hands off! You've got the nerve!"_

_It was all Kaede could do not to show that he was hurting from all the punches and kicks he received from the officer._

Hana…

---

_Back at Shoyo Hall…_

_Hana walked slowly back to her dormitory, all the while thinking about Kaede. She knew that his life in jail couldn't be any better than hell, and she could only hope that he would be alright and make it through the 3 months of imprisonment safely and in one piece._

Kaede…

_-End of flashback-_

Tbc...

---

Ok Now, the reason why I used all those names from Slam Dunk is because I was too lazy to search for a real street or park name from Japan. And by the way, the demonstration on Diaoyutai Isles is actually against the Japanese. They're supposed to be the invaders. But since this is a SD fanfiction and takes place in Japan, obviously I cannot make them demonstrate against their own country. I mean, they can, but not to the extent of accusing their own country as invaders. Wow, nobody reviewed the last chapter… sad… but I'll continue anyway. )


	7. Long Distance

**Long distance**

_-Flashback-_

_"Dad, let me help you," said Kaede, referring to the mailbag his father was carrying over his shoulder._

_"Have you signed in this month? You're on probation for 2 years, you know," his father asked._

_"Yes, I have," Kaede answered._

_"You're graduating in 2 years and you had to get into such trouble," his father continued. "How can you find a job in the future?"_

_"I've talked to my Warden. He'll help me lift the probation order," said Kaede, changing the subject. "He knows people inside."_

_His father didn't say anything, and continued walking until he reached his destination. He knocked on the door and called out, "Registered letter!"_

_Then, as he waited for the owner of the house to come out, he said to Kaede, "Shut up in your hostel all day, you don't know that it's tough outside. Take this letter for instance. One stamp short and the letter can't get out of the post office."_

_Finally, a man came out, and Kaede turned to leave. "Dad, I'll go first."_

_In the meantime, the man took a look at the letter and said, "You're mistaken. First floor, not ground floor. What a lousy postman."_

_"Gomen, gomen," the older Rukawa apologised profusely for his mistake. _

_Kaede, who was already a few houses away, turned around and said to his father, "Dad, I'll continue my studies in __France__."_

_"__France__? What are you doing in __France__?" _

_"__Japan__ is hopeless," came Kaede's reply._

_"Go to __France__? You think it's as simple as sending a letter? You have money?"_

_"I'll figure it out myself. Don't worry," said Kaede. _

_His father could only watch as his only son walked away from him. _

_-End of flashback-_

_---_

In the library…

"I never thought my Mum's been a revolutionary," said Kiori, as she looked at the newspaper article displayed on the computer screen.

"And I never thought my Dad's been in prison. And for a far away and remote isle, too," said Kioshi, who was sitting beside her.

Kiori nodded her head. "You know, my grandfather was a soldier. He fought in the Second World War. Kind of a revolutionary too, don't you think?"

"Really? I remember my great-grandmother telling me that my great-grandfather was sort of a revolutionary too. He fought against the Manchu's, he was a Chinese, see. Great-grandma said that his name's on the 72 Martyr's Tomb," said Kioshi.

"Cool!" Kiori exclaimed. "Hmm… I wonder what our generation has ever done."

_-Flashback-_

_"You know, I meant to build a bridge here in Kanagawa. I think that, every big city should have a beautiful bridge," Kaede told Hana, as they sat on top of a grassy hill in the dead of night, watching the colourful city below in all its splendour. "Like in __America__, you have the __Golden Gate __Bridge__; in __Italy__, the __Bridge__ of __Sighs__; in __England__, there's __Cam__ Bow," he continued._

_"__Cam__ Bow? What a nice name for __Cambridge__. I like it," said Hana. She looked at Kaede. "Where are you going to build this bridge?"_

_"Don't know yet," Kaede replied. "Got to look down from a plane to see which is the best location."_

_"Why don't we go and learn to fly a plane together?" asked Hana._

_"Good. And I promise you, the first day I've learnt how to fly, we'll fly together that very first day," said Kaede._

_"Hontou? So let's go and have lessons tomorrow!" said Hana excitedly. _

_Rukawa looked at her sadly. "I'm leaving next term."_

_The smile on Hana's face waned a little. "You really have to go, kitsune?"_

_Kaede looked at the beautiful face in front of him for a moment longer, before reaching into his bag and took out something. "I've made something for you when I was inside."_

_Hana took the sculpture. "Your hand?"_

_Kaede held out his left hand in the exact same pose as the sculpture. "See, identical."_

_Hana looked at the palm and frowned. "The lines of your palm are so complicated, kitsune."_

_Kaede kept quiet, leaving Hana to see properly for herself what they really were. _

_"It's my name…" Hana said softly. She ran a finger along the lines, where her name was painstakingly carved on top of them in small print one after another._

_Only then did Kaede speak. "My Lines of Life, Career and Romance are all composed of your name."_

_Hana smiled to herself and held the hand to her chest. She turned to look at Kaede, who was looking back at her with that same-old expression on his face. _

_Making up her mind, she grabbed his hand and said, "Come on!"_

_"Where to?" Kaede asked. _

_Hana smiled mischievously at him. "Don't you want it very much?"_

_Kaede looked stunned for a while, before his normally stoic face broke out into a soft smile. "Don't be silly," he said, and lifted a hand to caress Hana's face._

_Hana looked at him shyly, as he continued, "Maybe next time."_

When we see each other again…

---

_A few months later, at the post office's long-distance calls section…_

_"Kaede, it's me. Me, kitsune. What time is it at your end?" asked Hana, as she sat on the chair with the phone in one hand and the other holding a big stack of books._

_"What? You can't hear me? What do you mean you can't hear me? Are you saying that this Tensai's voice is too soft? Can you hear me now?" Hana practically shouted into the receiver. "How are you?"_

_(A/n: From here on, conversations in brackets are voiceovers, as another scene takes place.)_

_-France-_

_(Kaede: I'm doing very well here, you hear me?)_

_Kaede was working part-time as a delivery boy for a grocery shop, sending groceries from house to house. _

_(Hana: Is your job tough there?)_

_(Kaede: The job's fine.)_

_(Hana: Anybody making soup for you?)_

_(Kaede: Sure, smoked oysters with octopus and pork bone.)_

_"Look, milk!" Haruko exclaimed, pointing to the few bottles of milk left outside on the doorstep of a house by the milkman. _

_(Hana: What bone?)_

_After making sure that no one was around or watching, Kaede and another male friend grabbed 2 bottles each and together, the whole gang ran off. _

_(Kaede: Pork bone, do'aho.)_

_Kaede jogged slightly to the telephone booth on a cold, snowy day. _

_"Did I wake you up? I told you not to move out of campus. Couldn't find me? Yeah, my boss is a jerk." He put another coin into the phone box. "Every time there's a call for me he says I'm not it. How are you? When are you coming over?"_

_-Kanagawa-_

_(Hana: Soon, I've got many jobs in hand.)_

_Hana was doing a part-time job as an English teacher in an evening school. _

_(Hana: 2 private tutoring, 2 evening schools. Please wait for me.)_

_Akira was staring into space when a stack of books was dumped in front of him. He looked up to see Hana running down the corridor. _

_"Hey, stand in for me tonight at the evening school, please. Thanks, I'm counting on you!" Hana waved at him before disappearing amongst the crowd._

_---_

_At the post office…_

_Hana handed the paper containing Kaede's name and number to the man behind the counter, before taking out her purse and picking out the exact change needed to make the call. _

_The man looked at the paper. "Paris, 3 minutes, Rukawa Kaede."_

_Later…_

_"Kaede, it's me."_

_-France-_

_(Hana: How come you didn't call for so long, kitsune?)_

_(Kaede: I'm very busy these days, no time even to eat.)_

_Kaede came back from class to see his housemates already eating hungrily from some canned food. _

_(Hana: Really? I thought you've had another girl.)_

_He dumped his books aside and rushed to them, where Haruko handed him a bowl of rice and held up some of the cans so that he could eat from them._

_(Kaede: No, you hear? The French girls here are ugly. They don't shower, just spray perfume. Don't be such a do'aho, ok?) _

_(Hana: But when are you coming back, kitsune? You have taken so long.)_

_(Kaede: Well, it takes so long to study Architecture. Why don't you come over first?)_

_-Kanagawa-_

_Hana looked at the picture of her father on the tombstone, as her mother sobbed quietly beside her. _

_(Hana: I can't! The way my Dad is, how can I go away? Why can't you understand my situation, kitsune?)_

_-France-_

_Kaede gave his full undivided concentration to the textbook in his hand. He was going to sit for an exam the next day, and he wanted to make sure that he passed with flying colours._

_(Kaede: You keep saying I don't understand you! Do you understand me then? I've told you I won't come back without a degree. This I'm determined.)_

_---_

_At the phone booth…_

_"I say so and it'll be so," said Kaede. "Hello? What?"_

_-Kanagawa-_

_At the post office…_

_Tut. (A/n: The sound you hear when you're running out of credit while you're using the public phone.)_

_"Hello?" Hana called into the receiver._

_Tut._

_"Kitsune, say something."_

_Tut._

_"There's no time."_

_Tut._

_"You don't make a sound, it's wasting money, kitsune."_

_Tut._

_"Next time I'll-"_

_Click._

_Tu..._

_Even when the line was cut and Kaede was no longer on the other side of the line, Hana still held the receiver to her ear. _

_"I'll call you again when I've saved enough money," she said softly._

_-End of flashback-_

Tbc...


	8. Try to remember

**Try to remember**

20 years later…

"When your grandpa passed away, your Mum didn't say anything," said Mrs Sakuragi. "She just went on studying and took up 7 part-time jobs, making $700 a month. $700 was quite something in those days." She paused, before continuing, "I know, she very much wanted to go to France at that time. But she never mentioned it, not a word."

Kiori patted her grandmother on the shoulder, before walking into the house.

"Pity my Mum didn't go to Paris, or else she would have reunited with your Dad. Wouldn't that be nice?" she asked Kioshi, who was sitting at the dining table, folding some paper money.

"But you can also say it's a pity my Dad went to Paris. If they hadn't parted, wouldn't it be even better?" he said.

Kiori looked thoughtful. "If that's the case, then wouldn't you become my brother?"

"I guess."

Kiori scrunched up her face in mock disgust. "Eew. Who wants to be your sister?"

"Who wants to be _your_ brother?" Kioshi shot back. "If that's the case, that's tragic."

Kiori sighed. "If, if, how can there be so many if's?" She went outside to join her grandmother, who was still burning paper money.

Mrs Sakuragi pulled her aside, and said in a softer voice, "Baby, that young man's not bad. Good guys are hard to come by."

"Granny, it won't work," said Kiori, blushing a little.

"Why not?" Mrs Sakuragi asked.

Kiori sneaked a look at Kioshi, before replying, "Because he's Kaede's son."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"Granny, he says won't have girlfriends until 30…" said Kiori, trailing off at the end.

Mrs Sakuragi laughed. "That's sensible. A man won't mature until 30. Take your Mum's case. If she'd met Kaede later, wouldn't it be nice?" Her expression changed a little. "But these things are hard to say. Sometimes it's too early, sometimes too late. Who knows?"

Kiori nodded sadly. _True… how can there be so many if's…_

Unknown to them, Kioshi had been listening to their conversation from inside the house.

_-Flashback-_

_5 years before…_

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't grasp the time to learn the English language, you'll lose out in all aspects. You are all top executives of large organizations. I'm sure you understand this and I need not say more. Today, we practice some tongue-twisters to improve your fluency in English. Who would like to try first?"

_Hana put up her hand, eager to be the first one to try. A few other students in the class also put up their hands, but the lecturer picked a man who was sitting at the front row in the corner of the class, who looked like he was about to fall asleep any moment soon. _

_Reluctantly, the man stood up, and looked at the board, where there were a few tongue-twisters written on it. _

_"I'll read it once, and you will repeat after me, is that alright?" asked the lecturer._

_The man shrugged, and the lecturer began._ "She sells seashells down by the seashore."

"See sells see sells down by the see sore."

_Some of the students snickered at his mispronunciation, while the lecturer smiled encouragingly, before going on to the next one_. "A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood."

"A big bad bug bid a big bad bear, made the big bad bear bid bud."

_More snickers followed, including Hana's. _Man, this man is bad. The lecturer should have picked this Tensai.

_"No, that's wrong. It's_ 'A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood'," _corrected the lecturer patiently, emphasising on each world clearly. _

"A big bad bug bid a big bad bear, made the big bad bear bid bud."

_"Never mind. Let's go on to the next one_. Betty bought a bit of butter but the butter Betty bought was bitter so Betty bought a better butter to make the bitter butter better."

_The whole room fell silent, as everybody waited for the man to repeat the tongue-twister. However, instead of repeating it, the man said something else. _

_"Do'aho."_

_Hana froze at the word, while the rest of the class, including the lecturer, laughed_. It can't be… It can't be him…

_As she watched, the man whipped his head around to give the rest of the students a quick glance, his handsome face expressionless. His blue eyes met with Hana's brown ones, and at that moment, it was as if time had suddenly stood still between the two people. _

_His eyes widened a fraction, before he nodded his head a little in greeting. Hana curved her lips up in a small smile. _

_Later, Kaede and Hana sat opposite each other in a pub. For a while, no one said anything, until Kaede lifted his glass of wine and said,_ "We are the best."

_Hana raised her own glass, and they clinked the glasses together, before taking a sip of the wine. _

_Another moment of silence befell them, before Kaede spoke, "Have you been seeing the old classmates? I heard that Shoyo Hall will soon be torn down."_

_"Yeah, but Matsui and her gang had all emigrated. Two-thirds of my classmates are gone. Even Mum has gone to __Vancouver__," said Hana. She smiled to herself. "She even took an English name called __Nancy__. Sounds like a dance hostess. She flies between here and there, free as the wind."_

_"Well, all the emigrated Shohoku-ians have come back. There's no place like Kanagawa. There are so many opportunities here." He paused, looked down at his glass, and asked, "Is Akira in __Vancouver__?"_

_"No, he's in __Toronto__," Hana replied. "He says there's more business over there. He works as an immigration lawyer there. He's doing fine." Like Kaede, she paused for a moment, before asking, "How about your wife?"_

_"Haruko's in __New York__ with our son. Both of them don't like Kanagawa. Having got the passport, they didn't want to come back." Changing the subject, he asked, "And you? How about you?"_

_"I live at my Mum's place. My daughter's keeping me company in Kanagawa. I want her to have a good grounding in Japanese. But I've also got an advertising company in __Shanghai__. So I'm always travelling between __Canada__Japan__ and __China__." Hana stopped to take a sip of her drink, and then continued, "And you? Have you seen any old friends?"_

_Kaede set his glass on the table and answered, "Sometimes. I see the university guys often. And the revolutionary ones… less."_

_"Why?"_

_"Like Mao Zedong said, 'Revolution is not giving dinner parties'. Now I'm often giving dinner parties for my clients. Revolution… I guess I'm a revolutionary renegade."_

_"After all, revolution comrades are mostly momentary hotheads. Friends at university, however, are slow water that runs deep," said Hana. _

_Just then, the pub singer finished singing his song, and he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome my old friend, Rukawa Kaede, to sing for us."_

_Kaede shook his head. "No, Ichiro, you sing."_

_"No way. Didn't you sing this song every time you're here? Everybody, let's give a big hand for a lovely beautiful song_… 'Try to Remember'."

_The crowd in the pub started clapping, while Kaede looked at Hana, who began to clap as well, smiling at him to go. _

_A while later, he perched himself on a high stool with a guitar in his hands, and after strumming the first few chords, he began to sing. _

Try to remember the kind of September  
When life was slow and oh so mellow  
Try to remember the kind of September  
When grass was green and grain was yellow

Try to remember the kind of September  
When you were a tender and callow fellow  
Try to remember and if you remember  
Then follow, follow…

Try to remember when life was so tender  
That no one wept except the willow  
Try to remember when life was so tender  
That dreams were kept beside the pillow

Try to remember when life was so tender  
That love was an ember about to billow  
Try to remember and if you remember  
Then follow, follow…

Deep in December it's nice to remember  
Although you know the snow will follow  
Deep in December it's nice to remember  
Without a hurt the heart is hollow

Deep in December it's nice to remember  
The fire of September that made us mellow  
Deep in December our hearts should remember  
Then follow, follow… follow…

---

_Later that night, at Hana's home… _

_"Hello, this is Mrs Sendoh. Is Akira there?" said Hana into the phone. _

_"Mrs Sendoh, Mr Sendoh has gone to a meeting in Kingston," the secretary on the other side of the line informed. _

_Disappointment written all over her face, Hana hung up and started pacing around the room, her long wavy red hair framing her face and falling down her back. With one hand holding the phone and the other Kaede's name card containing his number, she sat down beside the window, contemplating on whether to call him or not._

Should I call him? Maybe I should. But why would I want to call him? Maybe I shouldn't.

_At the same time, a car stopped right across the road outside Hana's first floor apartment. Kaede winded down the window and rested his head on his folded arms, looking up at Hana's house. He could see her clearly from where he was, and was contented in doing just that. _

After all these years, she is still as beautiful as ever.

_In the house, Hana finally decided to call, and punched in the numbers. A little hesitantly, she put the receiver to her ear and listened as the call went through and the phone on the other side of the line began to ring. _

_Outside the house, Kaede's phone started ringing. Reluctantly, for he didn't want to take his eyes off Hana, Kaede picked it up and answered. "Hello?" _

_At the sound of his voice, Hana quickly hung up. _

What on Earth am I doing, calling the kitsune? I must be crazy…

_With that thought firmly planted into her mind, Hana got up from the window side and got ready to retire for the night. _

_Meanwhile, Kaede turned off his hand phone and looked back up, only to discover that Hana was gone from his sight and the lights in the house turned off. _

_Once more, he was reluctant to leave, but nevertheless, he began to wind up his window when from the corner of his eye, he saw the lights come on again in the house. Looking up, he saw Hana turning on the table light placed on the table near the window, before she disappeared from sight. _

_And on the same table, illuminated by the light, was the hand sculpture he had given to Hana 20 years ago before he left for __France_

_His eyes lingered on the sculpture for a long moment, but it only took him a second to make up his mind. Picking up his hand phone, he dialled Hana's number and waited for her to answer the call. _

_"Hello, Hana?" It's me. Are you interested in learning to fly with me?" _

Tbc...


	9. Flying

**Flying**

_-Flashback-_

"OK Kaede, we'll just check the oil."

"Yes."_ Kaede followed the elderly foreign instructor to the front of the plane and opened the lid to the oil compartment. _

"Undo that, and bring out the rod just far enough. How much is it?"_ the instructor asked. _"Five quarts?"

"Yes, that's correct." _Kaede answered in the affirmative. _

"So just pop it back in again."

_Next to them, Hana was with her own instructor, checking out their own plane. _

"_Take out some gas, watch its colour, then smell it. If no water's got in then it's OK," said the Japanese instructor. _

_Hana did exactly as she was told, wrinkling her nose a little as she smelled the gas, before throwing it away. Then, she looked up, and upon seeing Kaede, smiled and waved. _

_Kaede smiled back and gave her a thumbs-up sign, before walking to the propeller of his plane to join his instructor, who was already there. _

"Be extra careful with the propeller. It might have been hit by rocks and has cracks. That will affect the safety of flying," _the instructor explained. _

"Got it," _said Kaede. _

_After making sure that the plane was in good condition to fly, he sat in the passenger seat of the plane while his instructor took the driver's seat. He pushed open the small window on his side of the plane and shouted, _"Clear prop!"

_In the meantime, Hana and her instructor were asking for permission to navigate their plane towards the holding point. _

"Japan Tower, Cessna India Golf, with information Charlie, request taxi to light aircraft holding point."

"India Golf, you are cleared to light aircraft holding point,"_ the tower responded. _"QNH is 1007."

_Moments later, Kaede's voice could be heard over the radio. _"Japan Tower, Hotel November, taxiing to the holding point."

"Kaede, we need to stop just behind India Golf," _said his instructor as they slowly followed behind Hana's plane. _

"Tower: Cessna India Golf ready for departure, runway 13."

"India Golf, runway 13, you are cleared for take off."

_Soon, the plane was flying over the city of Kanagawa, and it wasn't too long before Kaede's plane joined them. Throughout the whole lesson, the two planes flew side by side, and so Kaede and Hana could wave at each other every now and then. Both their instructors could see that they were very happy and excited about flying, but what they didn't know was what it really meant for Kaede and Hana to be flying together like this. And if they knew, there was no doubt that they'd be happy for them too._

---

_A week later..._

"_What? It's impossible. No drain pipes at all, and you call it a skyscraper?" Kaede demanded into the phone. The next second, he slammed it down and let out his frustrations by banging on the table. _

_Hisashi, who was munching on a hotdog, asked, "Kaede, what is it?" _

"_It's outrageous! Every time I go to see it, they say it's not ready. Well, now the whole building's erected, there are no sewer pipes, toilet pipes or water pipes. _Whole building no pipes," _Kaede complained. _

"Ah, no pipe building," _Hisashi quipped._

"Shit!" _Kaede cursed. _

"_No wonder you're so mad. You know, you can't win in a situation like this. They've got the upper hand. Tell you what, I'll draft a new contract for you and call the municipal council. We'll sort it out, OK?" said Hisashi. _

"_Thanks," Kaede replied, with a grudging look of appreciation on his normally stoic face. _

_Having successfully appeased his friend, Mitsui nudged at Kaede playfully in the arm. "Hey, it's happy hour."_

_Kaede shook his head. "No happy hour for me. I'm dining in."_

_Hisashi looked at Kaede in disbelief. "Going home?" _

"_Yes," came the reply._

"_Going home?" Hisashi asked again to make sure he had heard correctly. _

"_Yes, going home," Kaede answered, getting a little irritated. _

"_When did you become so well-behaved?" _

_Ignoring the question, Kaede said, "I'm going home, you have a happy time."_

"_Come on, forget it Mr Rukawa! Experience the vicissitudes of life," said Hisashi, trying to persuade Kaede to change his mind._

"_You mean the 'viscosity' of life?" Kaede deadpanned. "I'll pack up and leave. Really, not tonight."_

_With that, he packed up his things and left Hisashi behind. _

_---_

_Later that night…_

_Hana sat next to the window, watching as the rain poured heavily and the wind blowing strongly outside the apartment. She shifted her attention to the single stalk of rose in front of her, placed in a tall, slim vase, and dropped in an aspirin, which quickly disintegrated in the water until no traces of it was left. _

_-_An aspirin a day, while he's away.-

_She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice a car pulling up across the street and stopping directly outside her apartment. _

_Unable to wind down the window like the last time, Kaede leaned forward and hugged the steering wheel, watching Hana through the windshield. He watched as she picked up the phone and started dialling, putting the phone to her ear once she was done. Then, his phone started ringing. _

_Not taking his eyes off her, he reached for his phone and answered, "Hello?"_

_At the same time, a fire brigade drove past, its siren blaring loudly and drowning out all sounds as it passed by. _

_Hana was bewildered to hear Kaede's voice on the phone, but she was even more bewildered when she heard the sirens on the phone at the same time she heard them coming from outside her apartment. _

What the...?

_Holding the phone to her ear, she moved so that she could look outside the window, and saw a glimpse of Kaede sitting in his car outside her apartment right before another an ambulance drove past, its own sirens blaring. _

_Kaede, hearing the sirens on the phone, looked up and saw Hana looking at him. He put down his phone while Hana left the window, appearing a while later on the balcony, not caring in the least that it was still raining outside. Kaede opened his window a little and waved, and that was all it took to get Hana to run downstairs, while Kaede came out of the car._

_They were stopped in their tracks by another passing fire brigade, but as soon as the way was clear, they ran up to each other and hugged. Then, Kaede quickly ushered Hana into the driver's seat while he ran over to the passenger side of the car and got in. Drenched from the rain, they stared at each other for a long time, before Kaede pulled Hana towards him and kissed her passionately, their first kiss after 15 years._

_-End of flashback-_

In the music room of the University of Kanagawa…

Kioshi ran his fingers across the keys of the piano, stopping after a while and grabbing the pencil slipped behind his right ear.

"I just can't get these few notes right," he said, frustrated.

Kiori, who was sitting behind him, looked up from the book in her hand. "It's OK. Take your time," she said, smiling encouragingly at him.

"There's no time. I've promised Mum that I'll return to the US after selling the house and watching the Gion festival in Kyoto," Kioshi explained.

Kiori's expression visibly changed when she heard that, but she quickly put on a cheerful expression and asked, "In that case, is there anything you want to do before you go? I'll keep you company."

"I…" Kioshi started, hesitating a little. "I don't want to wait until I'm 30."

Kiori smiled when she heard that. She got up and pulled at Kioshi's arm. "Come with me."

They walked over to the huge glass windows overlooking the garden outside, and Kiori pointed to a girl sitting on a bench. "Look at this one. She suits you, the Prom Queen."

Kioshi raised his eyebrows. "What queen? Queen of puddings? _No way, too far._"

"Hey, don't be too choosy. There's only one university in Kanagawa, so the quality's average," said Kiori. She looked around, before pointing at another girl. "How about this one? She's the model wife type."

Kioshi shook his head in disagreement. He pointed to a girl who was standing next to the pond. "That one's gorgeous."

"Which one?"

"That one, beside the lily pond."

"She's gorgeous?" Kiori asked, eyeing the girl sceptically.

"Yeah," said Kioshi.

"Really gorgeous?"

"Very gorgeous."

Still feeling a little sceptical about Kioshi's choice, but not wanting to say anything further, she turned to him and said, "OK, I'll go get her for you." Before Kioshi could say anything else, she ran off, and Kioshi made a show of following her, before falling behind and going back to the window.

He watched as Kiori appeared in the garden below and walked to the lily pond, only to find the girl gone. She looked around, and upon finding no one, looked up at Kioshi and gestured wildly with her hands, telling him that the girl was gone.

Kioshi pointed, muttering to himself, "The one standing by the pond."

Kiori looked around again, but she couldn't see anybody standing by the pond, so she looked up again and gestured to Kioshi that she couldn't see the girl.

Kioshi just kept on pointing, and then, Kiori realised that she was standing next to the pond. She looked at Kioshi, who was looking directly at her and pointing.

"Yeah. The one by the pond," he muttered again, his lips curving into a smile.

Kiori could only blush and smile back shyly.

-_Flashback-_

"_A bit more. More to that side, right," Hana directed from the window upstairs inside the house, while Kaede moved the patio furniture outside the house according to Hana's directions. _

"_Good, that's it," she said, and Kaede arranged the furniture properly before jogging back into the house, joining Hana in unpacking their things. _

"_Hey, you really got the pillar box at auction?" Hana asked, referring to the red post box standing in the middle of the living room. _

"_Yeah, the goddamn Cultural Centre. Even stolen goods are priced so high," said Kaede. _

"_How much is it?"_

"_Two hundred and fifty thousand yen."_

_Hana stopped at whatever she was doing and looked at Kaede. "What?! That's expensive! Only nostalgic dinosaurs like us will buy such things."_

"_You know, when my dad was a postman, two hundred and fifty thousand yen was 5 years' wages for him," said Kaede, a tiny smile appearing on his face as he reminisced the old times. _

_Hana looked at the post box, while Kaede continued unpacking. "Hmm, I think this looks like the one outside Shoyo Hall." She walked around the post box, her hand on her chin. "It really looks like the pillar box where I sent you letters everyday."_

"_Look, Hana."_

_Hana looked up as Kaede walked towards her with a box in his hands. She peeked into the box, reached in to take out some of its contents, and smiled when she recognised what they were. _

"_All the letters I sent you!" she said, looking at Kaede. The smile on her face couldn't have gone any bigger. _

_Kaede smiled back. "20 years, all here. They'd gone all around the world, finally returning to Kanagawa."_

_They looked at each other, the love they have for one another clearly shown in their eyes._

"_Let's put them all back in," said Hana, breaking the silence. Kaede nodded. _

_She took out a letter and looked at it briefly before slipping it into the box. "1973, go back in." Then, she took out a card. _

"_This one…"_

"_It's your birthday, remember?" Kaede reminded her. _

"_Is that so?" She slipped it in and reached for another one. _

"_And that one."_

"_This one?"_

"_Yeah, Valentine's Day."_

"_Right."_

"_And this one, another birthday card I sent you."_

"_Yes. I still remember the winter I received this…"_

_One by one, they put the letters and cards into the post box, stopping every now and then to recall the time when they had respectively sent and received specific letters and cards. It was a moment of pure bliss and happiness for the both of them. It was as if the whole world has faded away, and there was only the two of them. But, that feeling didn't last long, as they soon found themselves facing the bitterness of truth and the harshness of reality…_

_---_

"_Kaede!"_

_Both Hana and Kaede looked up from checking their respective planes to see a nicely-dressed woman walking towards them. The woman was smiling and waving at Kaede. _

"_Kaede! _Surprise, surprise!" _she called out. _

_Kaede was surprised to see his wife Haruko, and quickly went up to meet her. Hana was surprised too, but it was quickly replaced by the feeling of disappointment and pain. Turning around, she quickly climbed into the plane and waited for her instructor to get in, looking at everywhere else but Kaede and his wife. _

_Kaede himself was torn between going over to Hana and staying with his wife, who was clinging onto him and chatting away happily, oblivious to her husband's uneasiness and inattention. He watched as Hana's plane slowly moved forward, barely listening to what Haruko was telling him. _

_As for Hana, as much as she didn't want to see Kaede with his wife, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him, and she wasn't even paying attention to what her instructor was saying as they taxied towards the holding point. _

_Even after the plane had taken off, Kaede stayed on the field, watching until Haruko pulled at his arm, and he reluctantly walked away. As for Hana, she turned to take one last look at Kaede, distress clearly etched on her face as a million thoughts ran through her mind. _

_That day, only one airplane could be seen flying over the city of Kanagawa. _

_-End of flashback-_

Tbc…


	10. When I love you the most

**When I love you the most**

_-Flashback-_

_On a rainy night, at the Shoyo Hall…_

"_It's a pity that Shoyo Hall will soon be torn down. We've grown up together with her. Together we lost, together we won. Now, let's relive the joys and sorrows of those days."_

_At the signal of the emcee, slides of pictures from the past were projected one after another on the white screen. Everyone started chattering excitedly amongst themselves, laughing and reminiscing. _

"_Hey, look. Recognize yourself? So young and strong," said Hisashi to Akira, who was sitting on Hisashi's right. Akira laughed when he saw his young face on the screen. _

_Haruko, who was sitting one seat away from Hisashi, also laughed, but every now and then, she would look around the hall, trying to see if her husband has come back from wherever he had gone to. _

_-_

_In an empty music room, on the first floor of Shoyo Hall…_

_Kaede stood by the window, watching as the people in the hall talked and laughed happily with one another._

"_I think we'd better break up."_

_If Kaede was shocked to hear that, he didn't show it. Without looking behind, he said, "You've said it many times."_

"_This time I mean it."_

"_As you please, do'aho."_

_Hana's face was etched with guilt and pain, as she continued, "All the classmates are back. When I see them, I feel so guilty."_

_Finally, Kaede turned around to face her. "Then go home and be a good wife."_

_Hana looked up at him from where she sat, swallowing a bitter lump in her throat. Smirking, she said, "From the very beginning I wasn't a good wife. Nor a good lover."_

_She held Kaede's gaze for a moment before getting up from the piano seat. "I'm going." She had barely taken one step forward when Kaede spoke. _

"_From now on, you needn't call him furtively behind my back," he said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice._

"_And you needn't find excuses yearly not to spend your birthday with me," said Hana, throwing the sarcasm back at him._

"_And Valentine's Day…"_

"_Moon Cake Festival…"_

"_Christmas…"_

"_New year…" they both said at the same time. _

_Hana began to make her way to the door when Kaede spoke again. _

"_I hope you won't forget, each day that we were together, we were so happy, and I loved you very much."_

_Hana took a deep breath, willing herself not to give in or look at him. "Then I hope you'll remember, the days when we're apart, when you're not by my side, that's when I love you the most."_

_Holding her head up high, she walked towards the door, only to be pulled back and turned around. She found herself looking into Kaede's eyes, which were filled with grief and sorrow, and immediately felt her resolution of leaving him crumbling to the ground. When Kaede wrapped his arms around her, she responded by hugging him tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. _

Oh God… please forgive me…

_-_

_Later…_

_Akira looked at the people milling around him, trying to search for his wife who had gone missing throughout the whole dinner. Catching sight of Kaede standing on the stairway, he walked up to him and asked, "Hey, Kaede, have you seen Hana?" _

"_No I haven't," said Kaede. _

"_Ok then, thanks," said Akira, smiling at him before going up the stairs to continue searching for Hana. _

_At the same time, Haruko spotted her husband and went up to him. "Kaede, where have you been?" _

"_Just looking around," Kaede replied, giving her a small smile. _

"_Hey love. Why are you here?" _

_Hearing Akira's voice from upstairs, both Kaede and Haruko looked up to see Akira and Hana standing together on the second floor stairway._

"_What are you doing here?" Akira asked, smiling at his wife. _

_Hana smiled back. "Nothing. I was just remembering that year, when you greenhorns were raiding our gong. You Shohokus grabbed our gong from right here."_

"_Really? Then who's the one who grabbed it that year?" asked Haruko, linking her arm with Kaede's. _

"_It's so long ago. I don't remember," said Kaede. _

"_Do you remember?" Akira asked Hana. _

"_N-no, I don't. I think it was Mitchy…"_

_Suddenly, Hisashi appeared from out of nowhere on the first floor stairway. "Of course not! It was Kaede who grabbed it from Hana. Don't think I've forgotten!"_

_There was an awkward silence, as both Haruko and Akira looked at Kaede and Hana respectively, with the latter duo keeping quiet and not looking at their spouses. _

_Hisashi realised too late that he had said something which he shouldn't have. _

_Haruko could see that her husband was getting uncomfortable. She pretended to adjust his tie, before smiling at him and said, "Let's go shall we?" _

_Kaede was only too glad to get away from the awkwardness. _

_Outside, it was still raining heavily. _

_-_

_In their home…_

"_What's to become of us, kitsune?" Hana asked, as she and Kaede slowly danced around the room, their arms around each other. _

"_Don't worry too much, do'aho. It's no use anyway," said Kaede. He tightened his hold on Hana, resting his chin on her shoulder. "When we were students, we thought we could control everything. Now we know that nothing's up to us."_

"_That's true," Hana agreed._

"_But there's one thing I can be sure about," he went on, pulling back a little to look at Hana. _

"_What?"_

"_I'm sure we'll both get our pilot's license next week. So let's fly together then. Next Sunday's your birthday. Let's fix it on that day."_

_Hana smiled at him happily. "Good. We'll train up and fly out of Kanagawa together."_

"_Yeah, where do you want to go?"_

"_I want to fly to England, to look at the Thames from up above. Flying from bridge to bridge, all the way to Cam Bow…"_

"_Do'aho," Kaede murmured, before capturing Hana's lips with his own._

_-_

_Sunday, at the airfield…_

_Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring!_

"Ladies and gentlemen, another private pilot," _Hana's instructor announced as she rang the bell hanging above the bar. Everybody in the lounge started clapping and cheering. _

"_Nyahahaha! Drinks are on me today! Cheers!" Hana shouted, laughing happily, and everybody stood up to toast her success. _

_A while later, Hana was outside the lounge, waiting eagerly for Kaede to appear. She had brought Shiori with her, thinking that the three of them should fly together on her birthday. As she waited, she watched the planes land and take off with excitement, fantasizing about her own take off and landing. _

_However, as the time passed by, her eagerness and excitement began to dwindle. Three hours had come and gone, but Kaede was nowhere to be seen. _

He will come. He promised me. He will definitely come…

"_Hana!"_

_Hana quickly turned towards the voice, only to be disappointed and sick to the stomach when she saw Hisashi running up to her. He was holding a beautifully-wrapped present in his right hand and a single stalk of rose in his left. _

"_Happy birthday, Hana! These are Kaede's presents for you," he said, a big smile on his handsome face. _

"_Where is he?" Hana asked, although she already knew the answer. _

"_He can't make it. He's got a sudden business meeting in Tok-"_

"_I know," Hana cut him off, smiling a little. "His wife's suddenly came back. But today's my birthday. And the first time I've learnt how to fly. And our first time to fly together." She stopped briefly, before continuing, "He promised me." _

_Knowing that there was nothing he could say to make her feel better, Hisashi kept quiet and listened to her. _

_Looking at Hisashi, she forced herself to smile and said, "Let's go then." _

_They walked down to the airfield, where Hana began the routine of checking the plane she was going to fly for any physical damage. _

"_Mitchy, does Kaede really love me?" she asked, as she walked around the plane, followed by Shiori and Hisashi. _

"_Yes, of course," came his confident reply. _

"_So does he love his wife too?" _

"_Er… Well, it's like this… he… er…" Hisashi tried to find the right words to say. _

"_You mean he does."_

"_Well, you can't say he doesn't you know. Put it another way, you can't say you don't love Akira, can you?" said Hisashi. _

"_How come a person can love 2 people at the same time?" she asked, leaning against the plane, looking at Hisashi for an answer. _

_When he didn't say anything, Hana sighed. "Even a clever one like you can't answer that."_

"_Hey Tensai, if I can answer how come a person can love 2 people at the same time, I would have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize before Nelson Mandela."_

_Hana laughed at his statement. "Good answer," she said, thumping him hard on the arm. "I've got my license today and can take passengers." She took out a cap from her coat pocket and put it on Hisashi's head. "Hop in."_

_Hisashi hesitated, looking around as if hoping that someone would come and rescue him from having to sit in the plane with Hana. _

"Come on!" _Hana called to him. _

_Hesitatingly, Hisashi climbed into the plane. _

_As the plane began to taxi down the runway…_

"_Are you scared?" Hana asked Hisashi, who was fidgeting in his seat, still holding Hana's presents from Kaede in his hands. _

_Hisashi was too nervous to speak, and Hana went on, "You're such a nice guy Mitchy, too bad I don't love you."_

"_Please stop talking and concentrate on flying. I'm really very scared," said Hisashi, trying not to stammer. _

"_Hey Mitchy. Please take care of Shiori for me. I'm going to a meeting in England tomorrow. After that I'll stay there and have a break into the New Year," said Hana. _

"_You'll be over there into 1997?" Hisashi asked. _

"_Yeah."_

"_You're leaving Kaede behind?" _

_There was a brief moment of silence, before Hana spoke. "Tell that kitsune I'm through with him. Tell him not to look for me. If we go on like this, I'll go crazy."_

"_Aren't you already crazy to begin with?" Hisashi muttered under his breath. _

"_What did you say Mitchy?"_

"_Nothing, nothing."_

"_Just tell him that it's over between us, and that I never want to see him again."_

_Filled with determination, she pulled at the steering wheel to bring the plane up, once again flying alone over the city of Kanagawa. _

_-End of flashback-_

Early in the morning, along the streets of Kanagawa…

"I think my Mum wants to be buried with your Dad too," said Kiori, as she walked side by side with Kioshi on the almost deserted walkway. "This should be the best way."

"_Yeah, I think you're right," _said Kioshi.

"Let's get Uncle Hisashi to help. He knows many people."

"_Oh yeah. _I checked already. The biggest one is sixteen inches and shoots up two thousand feet and stays there for twenty seconds. _Pretty cool, huh?" _said Kioshi.

"Twenty seconds?"

"Yeah, that's long, right?"

Kiori smiled ruefully. "Well, my Mum's loved your Dad for over twenty years."

Reminded of his Dad, Kioshi felt sad again. "I miss Dad." He took out his phone and started dialling.

"Hey, it's just daybreak, who are you calling?" Kiori asked, curious.

Putting the phone to his ear, Kioshi answered, "I'm calling Dad."

"Kioshi…"

Kioshi passed the phone to Kiori. "Listen."

Kiori listened, and was greeted by Kaede's message on the answering machine at his and her mother's place.

"Moshi moshi. This is Kaede. I can't answer your call right now. Please leave your number and I'll call you back when I return."

Beep.

Tbc…


End file.
